In the remote little village of Sapanta (sah-PUNTS-ah), near Romania's border with Ukraine, the Merry Cemetery draws more paying visitors than mourners. Busloads of tourists pay about 40 cents each to meander the narrow paths among the 600 wooden...

THE city of Iasi was already vivid in my mind. Not because it is the capital of Moldavia province, in the northeast of Romania near the Ukrainian border, nor because it's home to an old university and beautiful churches. But because in 1876, when...

UNTIL recently, crossing into Romania could take half a day or more, even with oranges, cigarettes and beer dispensed to smooth the process. The change in the last year or two has been nothing short of astounding. Driving in from Hungary at the...